Chris Mepham admitted that the final two days of the transfer window were strange and stressful as Bournemouth looked to try and sign the Brentford defender.

The Welsh U21 international had only made 11 appearances for the west Londoners this season but his performances had impressed Eddie Howe.

Brentford, though, held firm to to keep hold of their highly rated defender but it was a hectic time for Mepham.

“It was a weird one, very quiet up until the last couple of days,” he told the Issue 96 of Thorne In The Side fanzine.

Chris Mepham (Image: Paul Burgman)

“I was having an afternoon nap on the Tuesday and Dad came up and woke me up to tell me that my agent was on the phone.

“He simply said that ‘Bournemouth have made a bid for you but try and sleep on it as nothing was going to happen overnight’ which was easier said than done as I had difficulty sleeping that evening.”

The not knowing also made things difficult for Mepham as he wasn't sure whether he wanted to move to the south coast at this juncture.

He added: “I really didn’t know what was going to happen. I wanted to stay at Brentford in my heart of hearts and that’s what everyone was saying to me – stay where you are, get some more games under your belt…”

Read More

Mepham was then one of the major headlines on Sky Sports News but his agent prefers to deal with his father with sensitive information, meaning the player himself finds out last.

He explained: “I’m always on twitter and the likes, was half aware that Eddie Howe was watching me and my agent let me know that he had been to a couple of the home games.

“My agent is wary and doesn’t tell me too much, always goes through my Dad which is commendable, I know Dad then keeps things from me so as not to unsettle me, but my agent has been a massive part of my journey so far and is really good to me (same agent as Alfie Mawson has) he looks after my interests and goes through my parents which shows respect I think.”

Read More

Mepham met with his agent on Wednesday morning to talk things through before Dan Bentley called him to see how he was, much to the delight of the young defender.

He added: “I met my agent at Westfields on the Wednesday for a coffee, he took me through the bids and what both parties had said.

“I went home and had about an hour’s phone call with Daniel Bentley which was really good. Bent’s rang me just to make sure I was ok and to see where my head was which was fantastic to have someone other than your agent, parents or manager to speak with.”

That afternoon, with Mepham's name being talked about around the country, the 20-year-old was at home trying to stay calm and he admitted it was a relief when head coach Dean Smith rang to say he wasn't going anywhere.

Read More

“I was at home. It was a tough day to be honest, all uptight in the house, trying to stay calm but at the same time having 101 things going through my head.

“I was actually quite pleased when the day was over or at least until Dean Smith called me around 6pm to say that they had rejected the offer and I was staying put. At least that put my mind at rest.”

Mepham, though, was flattered to have a Premier League club show an interest in him after so few appearances.

He said: It was a massive confidence booster and goes back to your earlier question about when I see all my mates going out etc, it’s just a fantastic reward for the hard work that I’ve put in and sacrifices made.”

Now, though, the focus is on Brentford and Mepham believes it was the right decision to stay at Griffin Park.

He added: “You have to make sure that you go in with the right mind-set and same attitude as you did the day before.

Read More

Brentford vs Middlesbrough

“Some of the players were surprised to see me but most agreed that it was the best thing that could have happened and it was right that I stayed at Brentford to progress.”

The full interview, which goes into his journey with Wales youth teams, the closure of the academy and more, can be found in the Thorne In The Side fanzine, which will be available from outside the ground before the home games with Middlesbrough and Sheffield United (£2.50).

Money raised from this issue will go to the fight against sarcoma (on behalf of Bees fan Sandy Briden, who sadly passed away before Christmas), The Lee Rigby Foundation (They are ponsoring a page in the programme for their Legends Rangers v Pompey game on April 1st) & donating to Bees fan Steve Tidy who is doing the Prostrate Cancer Ride from London to Amsterdam